The Maracana Stadium in Rio will this evening play host to two teams who are both looking to gain a foothold in what is an already very open Group H. Fans and pundits alike have been watching Belgium very expectantly, considering the glut of English Premier League stars present in their ranks. This evening however, Belgium defender and captain Vincent Kompany is a selection doubt with a minor groin strain, and Marc Wilmots, the Belgium manager will be looking at making some changes to a squad that actually struggled to beat Algeria, where most were expecting a simple walk over. Marouane Fellaini will probably get a start along with Romelu Lukaku who, while failing to score last week, still looks nailed on to start banging in goals at any moment.
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One of the key men in Wilmots’ lineup is Chelsea’s Eden Hazard, an ever present hard worker on the left flank. Russia’s Andrey Eshchenko, the right back is the one tasked with protecting his centre backs and keeper against Hazard, and that will be no easy task. Algeria found themselves having to hunt in packs to deal with the likes of Hazard, Lukaku and Mertens, an exercise that Capello may want to replicate this evening at the Maracana. Algeria also found that defending deep against Wilmots’ men was quite effective and Capello, being the observant manager he is, would probably have taken note of this detail.
Russia’s Roman Shirokov is still a selection doubt for this evening however the Sbornaya will need to find a way to cope creatively without the playmaker’s presence if they are to avoid having their midfield completely overrun by Belgium’s Witsel, Dembele and De Bruyne. Jan Vertonghen will need to do better this time round for Belgium, and avoid giving away costly errors in the penalty box. So far, Belgium haven’t really coped with the title “favourites” and with the surprises continuing to flow in this tournament, Belgium will need to get hold of this game early on and really use all their creative mindedness to take control early on.
With virtually no creative influence in an anticipated starting midfield of Glushakov, Denisov and Fayzulin, Russia will probably resort to long balls into the box, turning over possession easily to the Red Devils, much like they did in the 1-1draw with the Korean Republic, a match in which Aleksandr Kokorin was expected to work miracles in a crowded Belgium box. Russia will be expected to defend deep against the Devils, with the only way to stop them being to stifle the midfield and lock out the back end by putting 10 men behind the ball and playing on the counter, a strategy that minnow teams are beginning to use more and more frequently.
Many of the smaller teams are starting to realise that they cannot really match the favourites at the tournament through pure creativity alone, so counter-attacking football is becoming much more the norm, making this a tournament of real surprises. Can Russia do what other smaller teams have managed to do and pull rabbit out of the hat tonight?
